Method of lasting pointed toe shoes



April 1963 I w. A. VORNBERGER 3,087,177

METHOD OF LASTING POINTE'D TOE SHOES Filed Oct. 21. 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 7 /A 01 wmmwm mm W IN V EN TOR.

ff Mw PM April 1963 w. A. VORNBERGER METHOD OF LASTING POINTED TOE SHOES 3 SheetsSheet 2 Filed Oct. 21, 1960 INVENTOR. Z Walier JZVW'IZPr 6'7 A ril 3 1963 w. A. VORNBERGER 3,087,177

METHOD OF LASTING POINTED TOE SHOES Filed Oct. 21. 1960 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 INVENTOR. l'l klzer fZ. far/x6e er 6 Mwthgm" 3,087,177 METHOD (2F LASTING POINTED TOE SHDES Walter A. Vornberger, Somerville, Mass, assignor to Jacob S. Kamborian, West Newton, Mass. Filed Oct. 21, 1960, Ser. No. 64,033 5 Claims. (Cl. 12-145) This invention relates to lasting the ends of shoes and more especially to an improved method for lasting the toes of pointed toe shoes.

In Patent No. 3,011,186 granted December 5, 1961 in the names of Robert B. Dunlap and Jacob S. Kamborian, there is shown a last positioned bottom side up having an upper and insole mounted thereon and toe wiping means that includes a pair of toe wipers having diverging toe embracing surfaces that extend forwardly of 1 surfaces that are in abutting relationship when the wipers are in their retracted position. In this arrangement, the wipers are caused to concomitantly move forwardly toward the last and to swing toward each other about an axis perpendicular to the plane of movement of the wipers and passing through the point where the divergent surfaces meet. Thus, when the wipers are moved forwardly to engage the upstanding lasting margin of the upper and wipe the lasting margin down upon the insole, the toe end of the last and the sides of the last, extending rearwardly of the toe, are engaged substantially simultaneously. While this has proved satisfactory in lasting most styles of shoes, it was found that when lasting pointed toe shoes the wiped down lasting margin became crowded at the toe end and that the simultaneous forces moving over the bottom of the last, inwardly of the last at the toe end of the last and along the sides of the last, caused the upper material to break at the pointed toe.

The principal object of this invention is to overcome the aforementioned disadvantages and this is accomplished, according to the method herein disclosed, by first wiping the sides of the lasting margin extending rearwardly of the tip and then wiping the lasting margin at the tip that was previously left unwiped. The mechanism for carrying out the method comprises a pair of wiper plates having diverging wiping edges which collectively form an opening which, in shape, is substantially the counterpart of the toe of the shoe, mounted for swinging movement about a center which lies forwardly of the point of intersection of their edges on a median line between the edges and for translatory movement in unison along said median line. As the edges of the wipers, forwardly of the center, swing inwardly over the sides of the shoe, they wipe the margins at the sides rearwardly of the tip into engagement with the bottom of the shoe, however, since the edges of the wipers, rearwardly of the center, move away from each other they leave the margin at the tip unstressed. Accordingly, a bridging element is operably associated with the wipers which is movable into a position opposite the end of the tip during swinging movement of the wipers to fill the gap between them and hence to provide a wiping element movable forwardly with the wipers as the latter are moved in translation to wipe the margin at the tip into engagement with the bottom. Translation of the wipers is effected by a plate movable toward and away from the last and swinging movement by a pair of wiper cams slidably mounted on the plate, each wiper cam having an arcuate slot in which is located a pair of pins that are upstanding from the plate. A wiper is fixed to each wiper cam and the wipers are adapted to be moved forwardly across the insole to wipe the upstanding lasting margin down upon the insole. In their retracted position the wipers have abutting edges forming a line of contact therebetween and divergent edges extending forwardly of the forward end of the line of con tact. The center of curvature of the arcuate slots in the nited States Patent 0 Wiper cams lies at a point that is forward of the point where the divergent edges meet. Means are provided to translate the plate toward the shoe and to concomitantly swing the wiper cams about the center of curvature of the slots thus causing the edges of the wipers, forwardly of the center, to move toward each other and hence to engage the lasting margin rearwardly of the tip and the edges rearwardly thereof to move apart, thereby leaving the margin at the tip unstressed. The bridge element is mounted on one of the wipers along the abutting edge and projects toward the abutting edge of the other wiper to wipe the lasting margin at the tip after the lasting margin at the sides of the last have been wiped.

The invention will now be described in greater detail with reference to the accompanying drawings wherein:

FIG. 1 is a side elevation of the machine partly in section, showing the parts for supporting and clamping the shoe in the machine;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the wipers and drive means therefor with the wipers in retracted position;

FIG. 3 is a plan view similar to FIG. 2, but showing the wipers in their forward position in engagement with the shoe;

FIG. 4 is a bottom view of the wipers in their retracted position;

FIG. 5 is a top plan view of the wipers in their forward position showing the manner in which the wipers engage the shoe; and

FIG. 6 is a perspective view of the forward end of a pointed toe shoe of the kind with which the method and apparatus herein disclosed is especially concerned.

The method herein illustrated is concerned primarily with wiping the upper at the toe of a shoe having a sharply pointed toe, as illustrated for example in FIG. 6, however it is to be understood that the method is useful for any shoe making operation wherein ditliculties are encountered, because of the character of the upper material, with crowding and hence excessive strain at the toe which may result in cracking, breaking or other damage to the upper.

In accordance with the method, in order to wipe the upper over the sharply converging sides 1324, 126 and tip 128 of a pointed toe last 122, such as shown in FIG. 6, without excessive crowding of the margin and without breaking the tip, the marginal edges 1 30 of the upper, along the sides 124, 126 rearwardly of the tip, are first wiped inwardly over the bottom and, following this, the end of the margin is wiped inwardly. The effect of such wiping is to bring the marginal edges at the sides together, at the median line of the shoe, in substantially face-to-face relation, forming thereby a narrow, relatively straight rib r which extends rearwardly, the height of which is dependent upon the lasting allowance, without substantial stretching of the margin at the tip and of thereafter stretching the margin at the tip by shifting the rib rearwarly from the tip a small amount to pull the upper over the tip without increasing the bulk of the rib. Should the height of the rib be excessive due to an execessive allowance, it ma of course, be trimmed off but will leave, as before, a relatively narrow rib disposed about medially of the toe and rearwardly of the tip end.

The machine, by means of which the method may be carried out, comprises a shoe support, wipers and driving means for the wipers. The support and wiper drive means corresponding substantially in form to that disclosed in the above-mentioned Patent No. 3,011,186. The machine includes a frame 10 (FIG. 1). A carriage 12 is slidably mounted on the frame for heightwise movement relative to the frame. This is accomplished by heightwise movement of a sleeve 18, supported in a vertical position on the frame 10 by brackets 24 and 26. The carriage is fastened to the sleeve by brackets 14 and wise movement of the sleeve 18 and hence the carriage sleeve .18 supports a toe post 32 upon which is m'lnted a toe rest 34.

"A toe clamp 36 for clamping a last 37 against the toe -'rest 34 is slidably mounted in the carriage 12 for movement heightwise of the carriage by being connected to a plate 38 which is slidably mounted in a guideway '40 secured to the carriage 12. The plate 38 is connected to the piston rod 42 of a fluid-actuated motor 44 mounted on thecarriage 12. Thus, actuation of the motor 44 to raise or lower the piston rod 42 causes a corresponding raising or lowering of the toe clamp 36.

A heel clamp 46 engageable. withthe heel end of the last is slidably mounted for a horizontal movement at the top of the carriage 12. The heel clamp, comprising a pair of divergent jaws 48 adapted to engage the heel end of the last 37, is connected through a post 50 to a bracket 52. The bracket 52 is connected to a piston rod 54 of a fluid-actuated motor 56, so that actuation of the motor 56 to move the piston rod 54 causes a corresponding movement of the heel clamp 46* towards or away from the heel end of the last. A fluid-actuated motor 58 is mounted on the frame and drives a latch 60 into engagement with a toothed bar 62. on the heel clamp 46 to lock the heel clamp into clamped position.

The frame '10 includes a block 64 (FIGS. 2 and 3) upon which is slidably mounted a plate 66. A pair of wiper cams 68 are slidable over the plate 66 and have arcuate cam slots 70 therein to receive pins 72 that are upstanding from the plate 66. A pair of wipers 74 and '76 are rigidly attached to the wiper cams 68.

A fluid-actuated motor 78, mounted in the frame 10, is connected to the plate 66 and the wiper cams 68 so as to concomitantly impart rectilinear translation of the plate '66 with respect to the stationary block 64 and arcuate movement of the wiper cams 68 with respect to the plate 66 about the center of curvature of the slots 70. The motor 78 has a piston rod 80 that is coupled to a block 82, the latter being slidable in ways 84 bounding the edge of a slot 86 in the plate 66. Short links 88 are pivotally connected at one end to the block and at their opposite ends to the levers 90. The levers 90 are pivotally connected to the plate 66 intermediate the ends by pivots 92 and at the ends remote from the links 88 to links 94. Each link 94, in turn, is pivotally connected to the block 64 at a fixed point 96 in a slot 98 in the block 64. The block 82 has links 100- pivotally connected thereto at one end. The links 100 are pivotally connected at the ends remote from the block 82 to the cam plates 68.

It will thus be seen that movement of the piston rod 80 toward the right (FIG. 3), causes a corresponding movement of the block 82. Due to the connection at pivot 92 between the plate 66 and the lever 90, movement of the block 8-2 toward the right causes a corresponding translation of the plate'66, but at a slower rate than the block. Due to the links 100, movement of the block 82 toward the right causes the wiper cams 68 I110 swing with respect to the plate 66 about an axis lying :at the center of curvature of the cam slots 70 with the pins 72 riding in the cam slots during the translation of the plate 66.

The wipers 74, 76 (FIGS. 4 and comprise a pair of thin plates, preferably of steel, having flat undersurfaces .101 and 103. The wipers have fiat edges 102 and 104 that abut and form a straight line of contact between the wipers in their retracted position (*FIG. 4), the line of contact terminating at its forward end at a point 106. Forwardly of the point 106, the wipers have diverging edges .108 and 110 that are intended to embrace the toe portion of the shoe and be spaced laterally of the shoe in the retracted position of the wipers, the space between the edges 10% and being substantially the counterpart of the toe of the shoe. The wiper 74 has an arcuate recess 112 in its undersurface 101, which recess intersects the edge 102. A disc 114 is located in the recess 112 and is secured to the wiper 74 by spot welding or in any other appropriate manner. The bottom of 'the disc is a flat face v115 that lies in the same plane as the undersurface 101 of the wiper 74.

The wiper 76 has a recess 116 in its undersurface intersecting the edge 104. The recess 116 is adapted to receive-the disc 114 and therefore has a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the disc and a curved edge 118 complemental tothe curved periphery of. the disc. The recess 116 has a length that is greater than the diameter of the disc to facilitate assembling the wipers in the machine.

The aforementioned cam slots 70 form segments of a circle whose center of curvature is positioned forwardly of the point 106, defining the termination of line of contact between the wipers in their retracted position and the point at which the diverging wiper edges 108. and 110 meet This center of curvature is designated by the letter 0 in FIGS. 2 and 3. The point 0 is spaced forwardly of the point 106 an amount sufiicient to allow the edges 102 and 104 to move apart from each other when the wipers are moved forwardly over the shoe in the manner .describedbelow. When the wipers move apart the disc 114 maintains a bridge across the gap between the rear ends of the edges 108 and 110 and the edge 117 of the disc, thus exposed, provides a tip wiping element movable into engagement with the margin at the tip following movement of the edges 108 and 110 into engagement with the sides, as will appear hereinafter.

With the wipers in their retracted position as seen in FIG. 2, and the carriage 12 in an elevated position, the last with the upper and insole thereon is placed on the toe rest 34. The toe clamp 36 is lowered against the insole to clamp the last between it and the toe rest 34 and the heel clamp 46 is brought into engagement with the heel end of the last. The motor 28 is actuated to lower the carriage 12 an amount sufficient to bring the upwardly facing surface of the insole below the bottom surface of the wipers an amount substantially equal to the thickness of the lasting margin. At this time the lasting margin is upstanding from the sides 124 and 126 and point 128 of the last (FIG. 1). Adhesive may now be applied into the angle formed by the lasting margin and insole to bond the lasting margin to the insole during the subsequent wiping operation. Alternatively, the shoe upper may be precernented with adhesive that. becomes effective under the pressure created during wiping. =It is also within the purview of the invention to use other conventional attaching means such as tacks or staples to secure the wiped lasting margin to the insole.

The motor 78 is now actuated to move the block 82 toward the right (FIG. *2) and move the wipers over the last to wipe or fold the lasting margin down over the insole. As the wipers move over the shoe, upward pressure may be applied to the last through the motor 28 to create pressure between the undersurfaces of the wipers and the upwardly facing surface of the insole during the wiping operation. Movement of the block 82 toward the right causes the block 66 to move in a corresponding direction, but at a slower rate than the block 82 and the wipers to swing over the block and have relative movement with respect thereto about the point c, that is, the center of curvature of the cam slots 70. Since the point 0 is spaced forwardly of the point 106, the abutting edges 102 and 104 of the wipers separate as the edges 108 and 10 of the wipers move over the sides 124 and 126 of the last along lines that terminate short of the toe end of the last, so that the portion of the lasting margin at the point 128 of the last and extending for a short distance along the sides 124 and 126 is unengaged by the wiper edges 168 and 118. This is followed shortly by the engagement of the lasting margin at the point of the last by the now exposed edge 117 of the disc 114 to wipe the portion of the lasting margin that was not wiped by the wiper edges 1% and 110. The effect of applying wiping stresses to the sides is to draw the margins inwardly at the sides into substantially surface contact, forming a low ridge or rib substantaially medially of the shoe and leaving the margin at the tip substantially unstressed. Now, when the margin at the tip is wiped inwardly, there is suflicient stretch left in the upper material so that it can be pulled in over the tip simultaneously with a shifting of the rib previously formed rearwardly, so that the initial or original narrow rib does not increase in bulk. By having the lasting margin wiped thusly in two stages, the wiped-in lasting margin has a minimum of bunching at the toe end where the maximum crowding of the material takes place and a much finer quality product results than if all of the lasting margin were wiped in at the same time, with the likelihood of a break in the upper material at the toe being substantially eliminated. This is especially true in lasting pointed toe shoes where there is a great deal of crowding of the lasting margin.

After the completion of the wiping operation, the motor 23 is actuated to lower the last, the motor 78 is actuated to retract the wipers, the toe clamp 36 and heel clamp 46 are disengaged from the shoe and the carriage 12 is raised to its starting position. The lasted shoe may now be removed from the machine.

Although it is preferred to wipe the lasting margin at the point of the toe with the disc 114 after the sides have been wiped by the edges 108 and 110, the wiper edges 163 and 110 may be set to engage the lasting margin very close to the point of the last and thereby wipe substantially all of the lasting margin and the disc 114 may be eliminated. The spacing between the edges of the wipers in this case is small, however, it leaves sufiicient stretch in the margin at the tip, so that the latter can be pulled inwardly over the bottom by the translatory movement of the wipers Without the added bridging element.

It should be understood that the present disclosure is for the purpose of illustration only and that this invention includes all modifications and equivalents falling within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim:

1. The method of lasting the toe end of a shoe, wherein the shoe upper and insole are mounted on a last having converging sides meeting at a relatively sharp point at the toe end of the last, and wherein the upper has a lasting margin extending upwardly from the insole at the toe end of the last, comprising the steps of moving wiping instrumentalities over each side of the last, inwardly of the last along a line terminating short of the point of the last to wipe the lasting margin extending upwardly from the sides of the last, leaving unwiped the lasting margin at the point and extending from the point a short distance along the sides, and then moving a Wiping instrumentality over the point of the last to wipe the por- 6 tion of the lasting margin left upstanding by the firstmentioned instrumentalities while the first-mentioned wiping instrumentalities are maintained in engagement with the lasting margin.

2. The method of lasting the toe of a shoe having a relatively sharp pointed toe, comprising wiping the margins of the upper adjacent the tip of the toe at each side inwardly to conform the upper to the converging edges, leaving the margin at the tip unstressed and then applying a stress to the margin at the tip in a direction rearwardly along a median line, and simultaneously displacing the previously wiped marginal portion rearwardly by substantially the same amount to pull the margin at the tip over onto the bottom at the tip.

3. The method of lasting the toe of a shoe having a relatively sharp point at the tip, comprising applying Wiping stresses to the margins of the upper at opposite sides of the tip exclusive of the tip and in directions predominantly transversely with respect to the bottom to bring the margins together at the median line of the toe, leaving the margin at the tip unstressed, and then applying a stress to the unstressed margin at the tip, rearwardly along the median line and simultaneously moving the previously wiped margin rearwardly to draw the margin over the tip into engagement with the bottom at the tip.

4. The method of lasting the toe of a shoe having a relatively sharp point at the tip, comprising applying Wiping stresses to the margins of the upper at opposite sides adjacent the tip exclusive of the tip, in the plane of the bottom and substantially perpendicular to the sides to bring the margins into engagement at the median line of the toe in the form of a low narrow rib, leaving the margin at the tip unstressed, and then applying a stress to the unstressed margin at the tip, rearwardly along the median line and simultaneously moving the rib rearwardly to draw the upper material over the bottom at the tip without increasing the bulk of the rib.

5. The method of lasting the toe of a shoe having a relatively sharp point at the tip, comprising applying wiping stresses to the margins of the upper at opposite sides exclusive of the tip, in the plane of the bottom and substantially perpendicular to the edges to bring the margins into engagement at the median line of the toe in the form of a low rib, and then applying forces to the wiped-in sides, rearwardly along the median line to displace the rib rearwardly and simultaneously -to draw the unstressed margin at the tip over the bottom without increasing the bulk of the rib.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 698,476 Eder Apr. 29, 1902 1,412,032 Adams Apr. 11, 1922 2,221,864 Cummings Nov. 19, 1940 2,632,189 Chapelle Mar. 24, 1953 2,651,063 Hill Sept. 8, 1953 2,776,444 Eckstrom Ian. 8, 1957 2,898,615 Chapelle Aug. 11, 1959 

1. THE METHOD OF LASTING THE TOE END OF A SHOE, WHEREIN THE SHOE UPPER AND INSOLE ARE MOUNTED ON A LAST HAVING CONVERGING SIDES MEETING AT A RELATIVELY SHARP POINT AT THE TOE END OF THE LAST, AND WHEREIN THE UPPER HAS A LASTING MARGIN EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE INSOLE AT THE TOE END OF THE LAST, COMPRISING THE STEPS OF MOVING WIPING INSTRUMENTALITIES OVER EACH SIDE OF THE LAST, INWARDLY OF THE LAST ALONG A LINE TERMINATING SHORT OF THE POINT OF THE LAST TO WIPE THE LASTING MARGIN EXTENDING UPWARDLY FROM THE SIDES OF THE LAST, LEAVING UNWIPED THE LASTING MARGIN AT THE POINT AND EXTENDING FROM THE POINT A SHORT DISTANCE ALONG THE SIDES, AND THEN MOVING A WIPING INSTRUMENTALITY OVER THE POINT OF THE LAST TO WIPE THE PORTION OF THE LAST MARGIN LEFT UPSTANDING BY THE FIRSTMENTIONED INSTRUMENTALITIES WHILE THE FIRST-MENTIONED WIPING INSTRUMENTALITIES ARE MAINTAINED IN ENGAGEMENT WITH THE LASTING MARGIN. 